To Hell and Back
by whoopsidaisies
Summary: Sequel to "Highway to Hell".
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: So this is a sequel to "Highway to Hell". Read that before you read this or you may not understand what is going on here. Rating is K+ for now. May change later on. No promises though ;)**

* * *

Slowly waking up, Paige felt the presence of another body in her arms. Opening her eyes, she saw raven hair scattered over the pillow beside her and her arms circling a tanned waist. For a moment her heart skipped a beat, before she realized this wasn't who she thought. It was some girl she had picked up from the bar last night whose name she couldn't even remember.

She disentangled herself from the sleeping girl and got out the bed. Putting her clothes on, she left the motel room and went to the only diner in town. Walking in, she was immediately met with the sight of her half-brothers. Dean who was blissfully pigging out over a plate full of pancakes and Sam who was engrossed in his laptop. Taking a seat at their booth she ordered a cup of black coffee for herself.

"So how much longer are we staying here?" she asked.

"Not much longer. Actually, we can leave after we finish breakfast" Sam replied.

"Oh come on Sammy! We took out a Wendigo less than two days ago. I think we should take like a week-long break" Dean whined.

"Where to?" Paige asked.

"Castle Rock, Colorado."

"What's in Castle Rock, Colorado?"

"Well, in about 8 hours we will be"

"Ha ha! Very funny Sam. I meant what kind to supernatural being is wrecking havoc in Castle Rock." Dean asked agitated.

"Nothing" Sam continued with his evasive answers.

"Then why the hell would we go there?" It was Paige's turn to be irritated. "If there's nothing ghostly happening there, why can't we just stay here a little longer? I kinda like it here in this beautiful city of Norfolk."

"You mean you like the beautiful ladies of Norfolk" Dean quipped.

"Now that you mention it, they are quite lovely" Paige retorted.

"Guys if you're done drooling over the women here, can I continue?" Sam spoke up. Receiving no objections from his siblings, he continued. "We need to go there, cause Dad was there."

"What do you mean? Dad is dead." Dean said angrily.

"I know Dean. That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?" Paige asked uncomfortably. Talking about their father, John Winchester, always made her feel uneasy. She didn't quite remember the man, never got the chance to know him. But it was because of him that she was able to enjoy a normal childhood in Rosewood. Her teenage years weren't easy. Being bullied by Alison because of her sexuality was terrifying. Yet it was in that small town of Rosewood where she had known and loved Emily Fields. And for that she was eternally grateful to her father. Had John Winchester decided to introduce a young Paige to the life of a hunter like he had done with his sons, she may have never met Emily.

"I was going through dad's journal and I noticed that about 20 years ago when he was hunting down the Yellow-eyed demon, he kinda followed the same route that we did."

"What route?"

"He came across a shape-shifter in St. Louis, Missouri, faced a Wendigo in Nebraska and then went to Castle Rock."

"So what did he deal with in Castle Rock?" Dean asked now curious about the place.

"Don't know. He didn't write about it. But whatever it was, it got away."

"Wow!" Dean let out a slow whistle. "John Winchester was bested by something evil. That didn't happen often."

"Well what can I say! Maybe dad didn't have his Wheaties that morning."

"Okay. So dad found something in Castle Rock. Couldn't kill it. It got away. That doesn't mean its still there. I mean we don't even know what it was, what are we even supposed to look for?!"

"I don't know Dean! Okay! I just...we haven't had any other leads about the Yellow-eyed demon. I know this isn't actually anything, but would it really hurt us to check it out. If there's really nothing there, then we'll leave."

"Its just going to be a wild goose chase Sam."

Both brothers turned to Paige, silently asking what her opinion was. "Fine. Let's go."

* * *

The Winchester trio drove into town the next day having made a stopover at North Platte. Pulling over next to a grocery store, Dean went to go talk to some of the locals to see if anything weird was going on, while Sam when to get coffee. A while later, Dean was the first to return.

"The cashier thinks the local Free Masons are up to something sneaky but other than that nothing seems to be wrong here!"

"Dean you got the time?" Paige asked

"10 after 4...why?"

Looking straight ahead at the playground on the opposite side, Paige asked "What's wrong with this picture?"

There was a little girl playing on the swings and her mother or some woman was sitting on a bench nearby. After observing the scene for a while, Dean said "School's out...isn't it?"

"Yeah...so where is everybody? This place should be crawling with kids right now"

Slowly walking up to the woman, Paige greeted her with a smile. "Sure is quite out here"

"Yeah...it's a shame" the lady replied.

"Why is that?"

"You know kids getting sick...its a terrible thing."

"How many?"

"Just 5 or 6...but serious...possible serious...a lot of parents are getting pretty anxious...they think its catching" she sighed.

* * *

"So kids get sick all the time. There's nothing weird about that" Dean said. After Sam met up with them, Paige told the brothers what she had learned from the lady at the playground.

"Yeah...but only the kids are falling ill. I have never heard of any air-borne, water-borne or seasonal disease that only affects kids but not adults" Paige stated.

After mulling over the information for a while, Dean asked "So what do you guys want to do?"

"Why don't we find a motel to stay for tonight. We can check out the hospital tomorrow morning and if it turns out to really be a disease and not anything supernatural then we'll leave" Sam suggested.

"Sounds good to me" Paige piped up. "So where are we staying tonight?"

"I think I saw a B&B a couple of blocks away. Rivers Lodge or something."

"Fine. Let's go then" Dean said.

* * *

Paige and Sam entered the fashionably designed lobby, while Dean parked the Impala. Walking up to the reception desk, they noticed that it was being manned by a cute little blonde boy with crystal blue eyes who looked like he was barely 4 or 5 years old.

"Hey people!" he greeted them.

"Hello there...are you in charge here little guy?" Paige asked amused.

"No. My Mommee is" he replied.

"And where is your mommee?"

"Right there" the boy said looking behind Paige. Before Paige could turn around, she was greeted with an oddly familiar voice that made her freeze on the spot.

"I am so sorry. I hope my son didn't trouble you" the women apologized, cradling another blonde baby on her hip as she rounded them to go behind the reception desk.

"Not at all. He's a cute kid" Sam said.

"Thank you for saying that. Now what would you li— " she had finally turned around and came face to face with Paige standing on the other side. "Pai...Paige? Paige McCullers?!"

Paige felt her throat go dry. No one had addressed her by that name in over 3 years. Not since she left her old life behind. And here she was standing in front of a long forgotten part of her past.

"Hey Hanna..."

* * *

 **P.S.: Please read and review :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: siophiefandom, go-sullivan, alaskinder, just a liar, Mika and Guests...Thank you for your reviews!**

 **Here's the second chapter. Hope you like it.**

* * *

"Wait! You work with the CDC now!? The Center for Disease Control and Protection! You're a doctor?" Hanna's voice kept getting higher with every passing sentence.

"Hanna! Calm down! Yes...I am a doctor" Paige tried desperately to get Hanna to lower her voice.

Looking at Paige suspiciously Hanna asked, "Why are you here?"

"We were called by the paediatrics department of the Castle Rock General Hospital. I am sure you have heard that the kids have been falling ill recently and they can't figure out what the problem is. We're here to help."

"Called by the paediatrics department? Really?" Somehow it seemed like Paige had managed to make Hanna even more suspicious.

"Yes" Paige tried to be as nonchalant as possible.

"Can I see your ID?"

 _Shit!_ "My ID?" Now Paige was nervous. Paige did in fact have a CDC ID and it was as good as a real one, however, the ID did not list her as Paige McCullers. It has a false name just like all her other IDs. "You know me Hanna. I went to High School with you."

"That was over three years ago. We haven't seen you or heard from you since then. How would I know if you're still the same person?"

Paige felt her heart clench at Hanna's words. She was right. Paige wasn't the same person she knew back then. Her life wasn't the same. Neither was her name. She wasn't a McCullers anymore. She was a Winchester now.

"You're right. You don't know me anymore." Paige reached into her pocket and brought out her ID from her wallet, hoping against hope that the reason she is about to give Hanna for her name change would be plausible enough.

Hanna stared at the ID for a couple of seconds. "Who the hell is Lea Corben?"

"I am." Paige confidently replied.

"Since when?"

"After I left Rosewood I changed my name. Lea is my middle name and Corben is my mother's maiden name."

"Okay. Two questions. I thought your middle name was Mary? And why did you feel the need to change your name?"

 _Dammit! I should have known. Emily and Hanna rarely kept secrets from each other._ "My middle name is actually Lea Mary. I didn't use it before cause I didn't want my name to be 'Paige Lea Mary McCullers'. It just seemed too long. And I changed my name cause after Rosewood I wanted a fresh start. A new name seemed like a good place to start." Paige replied. "Does that sufficiently satisfy your curiosity or would you like to interrogate me some more while my colleague bears witness to it?"

Sam who had been following the discussion with utmost interest suddenly tried to camouflage himself with the surrounding. Looking somewhat chastised Hanna asked, "King or two Queens?"

"Actually one king and two queens"

A little bemused, Hanna continued "Cash or Card?"

"Card!" Sam interrupted. "Card...we'll pay by card. Let me pay." Paige was confused with Sam's sudden outburst.

"Adrian Veidt?" Hanna asked out loud looking at Sam's credit card.

"That's me" Sam said. Paige realized that the name of her card was different from the one on her ID. Had she handed over her card, it would have started a whole new barrage of questions.

"Whao man! Parking the car was a bitch" Dean waltzed in. Not knowing of anything that had just transpired.

"This is our other colleague, Dr Namor McKenzie" Sam introduced. "Dr McKenzie, this is Hanna..."

"Rivers...Hanna Rivers..."

"Pleased to meet you Ms Rivers" Dean said.

"Rivers? Wait...you're married? To Caleb?"

"Yes Lea. I am married. To Caleb. You would have known that had you cared to remain a part of our lives" Hanna snapped.

"Who's Caleb?" Dean asked.

"No one" Paige hurriedly answered.

"He's my husband. But Dr Corben is right. He means nothing to her" Hanna angrily stated.

"I think we should check into our rooms and then go over to the hospital. We have much work to do." Sam tried to diffuse the building tension.

"Right. Let's go" Paige said.

"Good luck at the hospital" Hanna wished.

"Thanks" Dean responded.

"Trust me. You'll need all the luck you can get."

"What does that mean?" Paige asked.

"You'll see."

* * *

"You knew her in High School? And her husband? Were you like really close friends?" Dean asked as they made their way to the hospital.

"Kind of" Paige vaguely replied.

Paige had never talked about her Rosewood days with either of her brothers. She saw no point to it. Once she knew who she was and what her destiny contained, she saw it best to sever all ties to her past and the people she once loved and cared about.

"Paige...you need to give us more than just a 'kind of'" Sam beseeched.

"Hanna was Emily's friend. Along with Aria and Spencer. They didn't have the best time in school after their friend Alison died. Alison was a bully. No one liked her. After she died, the girls were constantly harassed by... by people who ...had been bullied by Alison. They always had to keep their guard up. Initially, they didn't quite trust me either. But after...a few things happened...Hanna, Spencer and Aria decided to trust me...we became friends over time...Caleb and Toby were dating Hanna and Spencer back then...I got along with them too...up until I left and I haven't spoken to any one of them since." Paige tried to tell her brothers as much of her past in Rosewood as she could without bringing up 'A' and what all they had done to the girls.

"Who was Emily?" Sam asked.

"What?"

"You said Hanna and the other two were Emily's friends. So you knew them through Emily. I guess Emily was your friend first but something tells me she was more than just a friend."

"A lot more" Paige whispered.

"What?"

"She was...my girlfriend..." Paige finally said.

"Was she the one that got away?"

"Yes"

"Was she a tall, athletic, brunette with maybe a slightly dark complexion?" Sam questioned.

"What?...How?..What?!"

"That's all the girls you have been with since we met you. I thought that was your type but I guess its more than that" Sam mused.

"I...I..." Paige fumbled. "Guys..." she took a deep breath, "just...just forget about it okay...I don't want to think about what has happened...I just want to go inside that hospital...check out if this thing is just an illness or something more...then deal with whatever shit this turns out to be...and get the hell out of here...are we clear on that?" Paige irately stated.

"Okay...alright...we'll do what we do...and get out of here..." Dean said.

"Thank you...now let's get going"

* * *

Approaching the front desk, Dean put on his most charming smile and greeted the woman standing there. "Good afternoon, I am Dr McKenzie from the CDC. These are my colleagues Dr Corben and Dr Veidt. Can we speak to the head of your paediatrics department?"

Eyeing Dean suspiciously, she asked to see his ID. After Dean showed it to her, she informed them that Dr Hydecker wasn't available but one of the residents could see them. They were asked to wait in the lobby.

"Do you think Hanna will tell Emily?" Sam asked.

"I don't know. I don't know if they still talk to each other. But if they do then I guess she may."

"Would you like to see her again?"

"No"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes Sam. I don't want to see her again. She's was a part of my past. And that's all she will ever be to me" Paige snapped.

"Sam...just drop it okay...I think the resident is coming..." Dean said. "She's a hot babe" he smirked.

Paige closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure before turning around to face the apparently 'hot resident'.

"Good afternoon doctors. How can I help you?"

For the second time that day Paige felt her throat go dry. She was about to come face to face with another part of her past.

"Good afternoon. I am Dr McKenzie. This is Dr Veidt and Dr Co—" Paige turned around before Dean could finish.

"Hi Emily..."

"Paige?!"

* * *

 **Review please! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: alaskinder, siophiefandom, go-sullivan, EP and guests...so glad to know that you're enjoying the story so far! Thank you so much for your reviews.**

* * *

Piercing brown orbs now stared at Paige in stunned silence. Paige could feel multiple things happening to her simultaneously. Her palms were sweating. Her throat was parched. Her stomach was queasy. Her heart was thumping wildly. All because of the woman standing in front of her.

In the last couple of years she had thought of Emily millions of times. Sometimes she thought of their past. The times they spent together. The memories she cherished the most. Sometimes she thought of their present. Where Emily was? If she was safe? Who she was with? If she ever thought of Paige? The fears that troubled her heart the most. Sometimes she thought of their future. When this was all over, would she be able to find her way back to Emily? Would Emily take her back? Would they ever get a chance at their 'happily ever after'? That dream was the only hope she had that kept her going every day.

Despite all of that, she had never thought that this is how she would be confronted with the woman she spent more than three years pretending to forget. Needless to say, she wasn't prepared.

"Dude did Paige just call her Emily?" Dean whispered to Sam.

"I think she did" Sam whispered back.

"Do you think if we left they would even notice?"

"Shut up Dean!" Sam hissed. "We have to do something."

"What can we do? Besides I don't want to be a part of this lover's spat."

"Lover's spat?! What are you a character from Shakespeare's plays?! Just stop talking and let me handle this."

"Dr Corben do you know Dr...Emily was it?"

Sam's voice seemed to break Paige and Emily out of their staring contest.

"Dr Emily Fields...and yes I happen to know Dr Corb...wait Dr Corben? Who is Dr Corben?"

"I...I..." Clearing her throat, Paige tried to regain some composure as she continued, "I changed my name after I left Rosewood." Thinking it was best to stick to the story she already told Hanna. If Emily and Hanna were living in the same city then they were definitely still talking to each other and Paige knew from experience that they would be comparing notes regarding their individual interactions with her today. Any discrepancy in her story would to lead to more suspicion.

"Changed your name? To Corben?" Emily asked confused.

"Yes. Lea Corben."

"Wh...Why?"

Paige knew it wasn't just a question regarding her apparent name change. There were a lot of unasked questions behind the broken 'why'. Simply looking into Emily's eyes Paige could read all the questions she wanted to ask. And Paige wanted to give her all the answers. She wanted to pour her heart out to Emily. But she knew she couldn't.

"Cause I needed to get away from my past." A half truth. What she wanted to say was _I wanted to protect my past from my future._ Paige could feel her heart shattering by the mere look on Emily's face. It was a look of anguish, pain and heartbreak. All Paige wanted to do was run over to Emily and wrap her up in her arms. Tell her over and over again how much she loved her, how much she had missed her, how much she wanted to be with her, how her life was incomplete without her. But that wasn't possible. She had to be strong.

"Oh...I see" was all Emily could muster out as she felt her heart breaking all over again. _She wanted to get away from her past. She wanted to get away from me._

"Ahem...umm Dr Fields...if you don't mind can we talk about why we are here?" Sam butted in knowing Paige needed to catch a break.

"Umm...yes...yes...of course...well I am glad you're here...Dr Hydecker was about to call you guys soon. How did you find out anyways?"

"Oh some GP, I forget his name, he called Atlanta and, uh, he must've beaten you to the punch" Dean replied.

"So you say you got 6 cases so far?" Sam chipped in.

"Yes...in 5 weeks...follow me..." Emily said as she walked towards the paediatrics wing. "At first we thought it was garden variety bacterial pneumonia. Not that newsworthy. But now..." Emily paused, not sure how to continue.

"Now what?" Dean asked

"The kids aren't responding to antibiotics. Their white cell counts keep going down. Their immune systems just aren't doing their job. It's like their bodies are ... wearing out."

"You ever see anything like this before?"

"Never this severe. And the way it spreads...that's a new one for me."

"What do you mean?"

"It works its way through families. But only the children, one sibling after another."

"You mind if we interview a few of the kids?" Dean asked.

"They're not conscious" Emily sadly sighed.

"None of them?" Paige asked.

Surprised that Paige finally joined the conversation, Emily replied with a curt "No."

Tensed by her tone, Paige asked "Can we, uh, can we talk to the parents?"

"Well, if you think it'll help" Emily continued with her snappy tone.

"Yeah. Who was your most recent admission?" Dean asked.

"Natalie Thomas. She was admitted today morning after her older sister Joan. That's her father over there." Emily pointed to a man sitting next to a little girl's bed.

"Right. Dr Corben and Dr McKenzie, why don't you go talk to Mr Thomas? Dr Fields can you show me the case files for all the children?"

"Sure."

* * *

Walking up to Mr Thomas, Dean was the first to address him.

"Mr Thomas?"

"Yes"

"Hi...I am Dr McKenzie and this is my colleague Dr Corben. We are from the CDC. We just wanted to ask you some questions. If you don't mind, can you step out for a minute?"

"Okay I guess"

Once they were in the hallway, Paige spoke up, "We have already spoken to Emi...I mean to Dr Fields. But we would like to clarify a few facts. Now Joan is the oldest?"

"Thirteen"

"Okay. And she came down with it first, right? And then..."

"Natalie, the next night."

"Within 24 hours?" Paige asked surprised.

"I guess. Look, I, uh, I already went through all this with the doctor."

"Just a few more questions if you don't mind. How do you think they caught pneumonia? Were they out in the cold, anything like that?" Dean persisted.

"No. We think it was an open window."

"Both times?"

"The first time, I, I don't really remember but the second time for sure. And I know I closed it before I put Natalie to bed."

"So you think she opened it?" Paige asked.

"It's a second story window with a ledge. No one else could've. Look I should get back to my girls."

"We understand that, and we really appreciate you talking to us."

* * *

"So..." Sam began, "You didn't answer my question...do know Dr Corben from before?"

Emily was quite for a while leading Sam to think that he had upset her by being too inquisitive.

"I'm sorry. Forget about it. I didn't mean to meddle."

Breaking out of her stupor, Emily realized she had been silent too long.

"No...it's okay. It's just I...I don't know Dr Corben."

"You don't?" Sam asked surprised.

"No...the person I knew seems to be long gone."

"Oh.."

"Well...here are the case files...I need to go check up on my patients...if you need anything else you can ask at the front desk and they'll help you out"

"Okay...thanks"

* * *

Meeting up with Sam, Dean told Sam what he and Paige learned from Mr Thomas.

"You know this might not be anything supernatural. It might just be pneumonia" Sam stated.

"Maybe. Or maybe something opened that window. I don't know man, look, Dad was here for a reason. I think we might be barking up the right tree" Dean enthused.

"Well look at you Mr I-think-its-a-wild-goose-chase. When did you switch sides?" Sam teased.

"Shup up ya big tree!"

"Guys..."Paige cut in, "I don't know if its pneumonia or something supernatural, but I know one thing."

"What?" the brothers asked together.

"That guy we just talked to? I'm betting it'll be a while before he goes home."

* * *

Sneaking into the Thomas home with their lock-picking tools, they made their way into Natalie's room. Using their homemade EMFs they start to investigate the room.

"You got anything over there?" Sam asked.

"Nah, nothing" Dean replied.

"Paige? You find anything?"

Paige was quietly standing at the window sill. "Come over here."

Both brother walk over to Paige and find themselves staring at a handprint rotted into the wood.

"Whoa!" Sam exclaimed.

"Well at least we know now that it's not pneumonia."

"Yeah, but what the hell leaves a rotted handprint like that?" Sam asked.

Looking a little sick Dean says, "I know why Dad was here. He's faced this thing before. We need to finish this job."

* * *

Hanna knew the second she heard her phone ring who was calling and why they were calling.

"So I take it that you have met Dr Lea Corben?"

"How did you know?" Emily asked perplexed.

"Oh Em! Where do you think the doctors are staying?"

"You knew she was here and you didn't tell me?"

"Nothing I could say would have ever prepared you for it."

"You could have still given me heads up Hanna!"

"Well what is done is done. Did you get to talk to her?"

"If by talking you mean she basically told me that she went from Paige to Lea to get away from me then yeah we talked."

"She said WHAT?! You must have misunderstood. I mean sure Paige seemed a little different but she's still your Paige, Em. If I think about it, the fact that she changed her name kinda makes sense. Maybe we should have done it too. We could have actually done total makeovers. I could have become a brunette, wore green contacts and gone by the name of Valerie Bloomingdale. Valerie is a nice name right? Classy with a hint of rebellion. It would suit me, don't you think?"

"I...I...HANNA...I cannot believe you're actually talking about this. Who cares about what name suits you?! That's not important!"

"I'm sorry. You're right. So we need to find out what the deal with Paige is."

"I just need a crate of beer to drown myself in."

"I can get you that. Come over."

"I...I don't think that's a good idea. I have work in the morni-"

"They're not here Em. It's safe."

"Oh...Okay then."

As soon as she ended the call with Emily, she placed another call.

"Hey...you wouldn't believe who I and Em met today!"

* * *

 **Wow! That was my longest chapter yet. If you've made it till the end, care to leave a review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Would you look at that! Its an update! Who would have thought that this would happen! ;)**

 **Anyway...enjoy!**

 **P.S. Flashbacks are in Italics.**

* * *

"It's Emily and I Hanna! Not the other way round," Spencer said with a practiced exasperation which only comes with years of knowing Hanna Marin yet having the disillusioned hope of someday getting her to say the right terms instead of their jumbled versions.

"Ohkay Spence! Do you wanna keep correcting my adjectives or do you wanna hear what I have to say?" Hanna replied, knowing full well that she would never get Spencer off her back but not willingly to put in the effort to correct herself either. Why would she when it was far more fun to piss Spencer off.

"They're pronouns Hanna! Not adjectives!"

"Potayto, potahto...Its the same thing."

"Of course its not the same thing! They are two different aspects of the parts of speech!"

"Speech!? I wasn't giving a speech...you've barely even let me say anything at all Spencer!"

"Spence honey...Who are you talking you? The vein on your forehead looks like its about to burst!" Aria walked into to the having heard Spencer getting increasingly agitated on the phone.

"Is that Aria? Oh thank God! Can you please put her on?"

"Here!" Spencer thrust the phone to Aria. "Its Hanna"

"Hey Han!"

"Hey Ar! You wouldn't believe who I and Emily saw!"

"Oh for the love of God!" Spencer mumbled.

"Who?"

"Lea Corben!"

"Who's that?"

"Its Paige! Paige McCullers!" Hanna literally screamed through the phone.

"WHAT! Give me the phone!" Before Aria could react to the news, Spencer snatched the phone from her.

"Paige McCullers? The Paige McCullers? Emily's Paige McCullers?"

"How many other Paige McCullers do you know Spence?"

"But what...how...when...?"

"Oh yeah...she changed her name after she left Rosewood...she's a hot doc now...works for the CDC and shit...came here with two other hot docs cause of the kids falling sick."

"Wow! Paige a doctor?! Huh!" Spencer scoffed.

"She did get a full ride to Stanford Spence. She's certainly not dumb." Aria spoke up.

"Well...my work is done...I have spread the news and all...I gotta go now...Em's coming over."

"Hey...wait...how did Emily react? Is she alright?" Aria asked concerned.

"She sounded kinda bummed...but don't worry I'll cheer her up and get Paily back together as soon as possible! Bye guys!"

"What!? Wait...Hanna...HANNA! Great! She hung up!" Spencer said incredulously.

"It's Hanna baby...what else did you expect?"

"I am not sure why I at all expect anything from Hanna...but I sure as hell wasn't expecting McCullers to ever come back into our lives."

"Its Corben now."

"I don't care what she calls herself now! I think we should go to Castle Rock."

* * *

"What do you mean Dad's faced this thing before?" Paige asked.

Taking a shaky breath Dean said "It was a long time ago. Dad had brought us here..."

 _xxxxx_

 _A 10 year old Dean stares at the photograph of the rotted handprint, while John loads his shotgun._

 _"Now listen Dean...you know the routine...if anybody calls, don't pick up. If I call then I'll call once, hang up and then call again. You pick up my call, okay?_

 _"Yupppp...only answer the phone if it rings once first."_

 _"Dean...this is serious."_

 _"I know Dad! Stop worrying! We've already done this like a billion times before and you know I'm not an idiot."_

 _"I know you're not. But we don't have any scope for making even a single mistake." John says as he continues to gather his things._

 _"Okay. I am packed. I'll be back by Sunday but if I don't come back call..."_

 _"Pastor Jim...I know!"_

 _"Right...lock the doors...windows...pull down the shades...stay out of trouble...and above all else..."_

 _"Take care of Sammy...I KNOW!"_

 _With an exasperated sigh John continues "If anything tries to break in..."_

 _"Shoot first, ask questions later."_

 _"That's my little warrior!" John smiles as he walks out the door._

 _xxxxx_

 _"When's Dad coming back Dean?" asked a 6 year old Sam._

 _"Tomorrow."_

 _"Really?"_

 _"I dunno...I think...Here eat your dinner." Dean placed a bowl full of spaghetti._

 _"I don't want scabetti no more."_

 _"You're the one who wanted them!"_

 _"I want lucky charms now!"_

 _"There isn't any more lucky charms!"_

 _"I WANT LUCK CHARMS!"_

 _"You know what...you don't want spaghetti...that's fine...go to sleep on an empty stomach! See if I care!"_

 _Sam runs off to the bedroom crying._

 _xxxxx_

 _Later that night Dean goes out of the motel room to get the lucky charms for Sam. On his way back, he gets an uneasy feeling and decides to rush back to Sam. Nearing the room, he quietly unlocks and locks the door, thinking that Sam is asleep and hoping not wake him up. Entering the room he notices a shadow lurking in the bedroom. As he goes closer he is shocked to find a hooded creature hovering over a whimpering Sam. Being too stunned Dean doesn't act fast enough and suddenly he hears the front door breaking. John tumbles into the room and takes aim at the creature._

 _"Sam! MOVE!" He shouts and as Sam scampers away he takes the shot but misses and the creature jumps out the window. John goes to follow but is stopped by the cries of a traumatized Sam. Taking his son in his arms he gives an accusatory glare to Dean._

 _"I told you to take care of Sam!"_

* * *

"I honestly do not remember any of this."

"Its a good thing that you don't Sammy. Its not exactly a good memory."

"So what was this creature?" Paige asks.

"Its a shtriga."

"What's a shtriga?"

"I think its a sort of witch. Don't know much about it."

"Well Dad didn't write much about it in his journal. I guess we need to do our own research."

"Sure...but first we need to get out of here."

* * *

"So you wanna tell me why you didn't think of warning me that Paige was here?"

"What could I have possibly said to you Em? 'Hey Em...Remember the girl you used to be madly, head over heels in love with...the one who went away to college and then forgot about you...the one you're probably still not completely over yet...she's back...with a new name and two buddies as well.' Would that have helped?"

"Well...not if you said it like that..."

"I see you didn't deny that you're not over her yet." Hanna said with a smug grin.

"Of course I am...I am totally...completely over Paige McCullers!"

"Sure you are...that's why you're trying to drown yourself in beer. That's totally believable."

"Its the weekend Hanna...I can drink if I want."

"Its Wednesday."

"Fine...what do you want me to say? That I am not over her? Of course I am not! She was the love of my life! I thought she was the one for me! For god's sake Hanna I went to an anti-LGBT university in California just so that I could be near her...but she left...she left me and never looked back...she changed her name to get away from her past...to get away from me...so yes Hanna I still care about her but I don't want to anymore..." Emily broke into tears that she'd tried to keep at bay from the time she had seen Paige.

Hanna quickly wrapped up her best friend in a tight hug and let her cry her heart out. "Em if living in Rosewood has taught me anything then its to know that not everything is as it seems. I know Paige leaving and disappearing without a trace hurt you. Is STILL hurting you. But shouldn't talk to Paige at least once. Hear what she has to say? If not for her then do it for you."

"I don't know Hanna...I don't know what I want to do anymore..."

"You'll figure it out Em...just take your time...and I'll be there with you every step of the way."

* * *

 **I would like to ardently thank all of you who have stuck by my stories and encouraged me to write.**

 **Additionally, this story is based on Season 1, Episode 18, Something Wicked of the Supernatural series. (Probably should have mentioned that at the beginning...oh well...better late than never).**

 **Lastly Sparia is a thing in this. I will explain them in later chapters, when I get to writing them.**


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